Many little things

My convelescence continues, and I have been trying to keep my hands busy.  I've been working my way through the two colours of mill end cotton yarn I have handy.  The things I have been making are small, so I'm not going through the yarn very quickly.

I broke out a double ended crochet hook and worked up this pot holder.

The result is quite thick and flexible.

There is quite a lot of stretch to it, too.  I've made others in the past that were far denser and less flexible.  Same doubled ended hook to make them, and the same weight of cotton yarn, as far as I can remember, so they should have been the same.  Perhaps my own tension was simply more relaxed. 

Then I played around to make a small drawstring bag.

It's maybe 2 inches across the bottom, and barely 4 inches high.

The cord is just chain stitch with two strands.  I like it, but have no idea what I would use it for.

Then I used an Afghan hook to make another potholder, with the teal bordered in rounds of sc in the white.  I couldn't sleep last night, so a made another, reversing the colours, to match.

Here is how the backs look.

Tunisian stitch tends to curl, and still wants to, even with the borders.  I added a round of slip stitch where the colours meet, to further reinforce the border.

Our crocheted dishcloths have been finally wearing out, so I made a couple in linen stitch.

There is little difference between front and back.

Just the sc border has a defined front and back, and the dishes don't care.

Then there is this little group.

The round coaster is as basic as they come.  A flat disk done in sc and DC stitches.

The square coaster is double thickness.  Sc rounds done, without any increases or decreases, around a foundation stitch chain.  The "bag" naturally closes in on itself as it gets taller.  Once it's tall enough that the edges meet in the middle, I sewed it closed with a contrasting blanket stitch.  I've made larger versions of these, and they make great trivets, and I would close them with a crocheted slip stitch but, at this size, it was easier to use a needle. 

The tawashi dishcloth is something I finished just before I started this post.  The last ones I made wore out long ago, and I do like their function compared to flat dishcloths.

Here are the backs of the coasters, and the tucked in tawashi.  I could have added more rows so it could lie flat, but I like this size and shape.

I still have more of this yarn left.  I realized I have another ball of the white with an unfinished water bottle holder attached that I started whike working the market this past summer.  I will dig that out, next, and finish it.  Then see what other yarn I've got laying about and think of other things to crochet.  

Or maybe another craft I can do while in my cat free zone recovery space. 😂  We can't keep the cats (mostly rescued yard cats we've been trying to adopt) out of my bedroom.  If I close my door, they literally try to tear it apart to get in.  I normally would not mind their company.  I rather enjoy being cuddled by them when I sleep.  What I can't risk is having them climb up onto my abdomen, or parkour off my belly, like they sometimes do.  That could cause serious problems with my internal stitches!  Our living room is our cat free zone, which means it's where we shove things that needs to be protected from cat damage.  Which currently includes me. 😆  I sleep on the couch and work on the coffee table, for now.  Crochet is the most portable and flexible craft for this.  Or knitting, if I were a knitter.

Speaking of which, one of my daughters is a knitter.  She is currently working on ankle socks with glitter yarn in Christmas colours for me.  I quite look forward to when they are done!

So this is how I've been spending my time, and will be for another 4 weeks or so.  I feel quite well, and the family has been very stern about making sure I don't start doing things I'm banned from during recovery.   Which means my daughters have taken over the outside winterizing and garden tending.  I need to do crafting or I will go stir crazy with wanting to be working outside! 😆 🤣 

A sturdy bowl

One thing about being in recovery and feeling really good.  I've done more crochet in the past few days than I have been able to, in ages.

I have mill end cotton yarn in two colours right now.  After whipping up a little critter last night, I decided to make a bowl.  Two strands of yarn and a 6mm hook, working only in sc, makes for a sturdy little bowl.

This was worked in a spiral, starting with a flat disc until it was as wide as I wanted.  I worked the sides straight for a few rounds, then made two decreases, opposite each other, before continuing without anymore changes.

To reinforce the edge, I working one last sc round over the previous round to encase it.  At the end of the round, I continued,  working slip stitches under the top V loops of the last sc round.  The slip stitches should reduce any stretching and help maintain a sturdy edge that shouldn't flop around much at all.

I am happy with it.  

Little critter

I had some safety eyes and a small handful of fiber fill.  So I made this.

Because I could. 😆

Crochet hanging bag

I am currently under significant mobility instructions after undergoing abdominal surgery that turned out to be more complex then expected. 

The restrictions are quickly becoming a challenge, because I'm feeling better now, just 5 days after surgery, than I've felt in a long time.  I'm being good, though.  Mostly because my husband and daughters know me very well and are keeping their eyes on me. 😁

During the summer, I started on a simple project, while working a table at a farmer's market.  Something that could be worked in 30C heat.  It was set aside when the market was done, and I fished it out, a few days ago.

It was inspired by something I saw on Pinterest.   A hanging bag made from a basic triangle, with the bottom corners folded in by thirds and stitched closed. 

I chose some mill end, medium weight, cotton yarn I had, and a 5mm hook.

Of course, I changed it up a bit, from the vague instructions I saw on Pinterest.   I used solid single crochet to make the triangle, rather than linen stitch.  To make the point, I worked 1sc, 2ch, 1sc into the 2ch of the previous row.

The bottom, I noticed, was not going to form straight without increases at each corner.  Not at every row, though.  Mostly, I did increases at every other row. 

The bottom was still a bit wonky, though, but that got cleaned up.  Once I was satisfied with the size of the triangle, I did the last row's point as a loop of 10ch for the hanger.  On reaching the corner of that last row, I turned to work a row of sc along the bottom and continued, working in rounds.  On reaching the chained loop in this first round, I stabilized it by slip stitching across the point below it.  In the next round, I worked 20sc over the 10ch loop.

On finishing and tying off the kast round, I folded the corners in, in thirds, making it as even as possible.   The bottom was sewn closed with a running stitch through the 3 layers of fabric, from the folded corner to the corner with a point on top.  Then I continued stitching up the edge, to secure the overlapping fabric.  Once at the V formed in the middle, I sewed a few stitches around the join to further strength and secure it.  Last of all, I turned it inside out to sew in the loose ends.

This is the final result.

At some point, I will get my daughters to find a place to hang it and test it out.

I think I am happy with it.  If I were to change anything, it would be to make a bigger triangle to form a wider bag.  The cotton yarn in single crochet makes for a stiff fabric sturdy bag.  Changing the yarn, the stitch pattern, or even a larger hook, would make for a more flexible bag and softer drape.  It all comes down to what's needed for how it will be used.

It's definitely a very basic pattern, and easy to make.  

Supplies in

Yesterday, while on my way to a doctor's appointment, we were able to stop at the post office to pick up a parcel.  My bead supply order was in!  This is what I got.

It's actually two orders.  The small case on the bottom right has two bobbins of beading thread, one white, one black.

The kit I ordered (not an affiliate link) has the case of glass seed beads (upside down, as they were easier to see), two rolls of clear elastic beading thread, a bag of jump rings and a bag of findings and charms.  The title says needles included, but the description doesn't, and I haven't seen any in the kit, yet.  I have bead needles, though.  

I'm glad I ordered the separate bobbins of thread (not an affiliate link), as I'm looking to do some peyote stitch bead weaving, and elastic thread is not good for that.  This is something I've done before, a very long time ago.  I'd made small treasure bag necklaces, rings, bracelets and quite enjoyed the process.  My problem was the seed beads that were available.  They tended to not be consistent in size, resulting in misshapen weaves and designs.  The only brands of seed beads that were uniform were not available locally, and were expensive to order in.

How times have changed!  I haven't opened any individual bags, yet, but these should be uniform in size.

Along with peyote stitch weaving, I expect to use this kit for some of the Christmas ornaments I'm planning on making, though those plans may need to change.  I got a diagnosis at the doctor's yesterday.  Endometrial cancer.  I should be getting a full hysterectomy within the month, with further testing in between to determine what stage it's in.  It should be early enough that the surgery will be all I need, but I'm having to be referred to specialists in the city that have the equipment to do the required testing.  Which is unfortunate, because I really like the doctor that the ER was able to contact to see me on short notice.  That and her clinic and the hospital she works in are in a nearer, smaller city and much easier to get to.  Ah, well.  It is what it is.  Between that and medical appointments for my daughters, plus managing pain, I don't know how much time I'll have for anything, never mind crafting!  Still, I am not able to do the outside work I would normally be doing this time of year, and the lack of activity is driving me stir crazy.  I don't quite have all the materials I need, yet, but I should have enough to get started, at least.

We shall see.

For now, I'm looking forward to getting back into crafts I've enjoyed in the past.

A quick note

So... crafting has not been happening much of late!

For the past few years, it has simply been a matter of time and the effects of manual labour on my hands.  It's rather hard to crochet, for example, when your skin is so rough that yarn snags on it and pulls right off the hook - and yes, even with the use of hand lotion.

Other things have changed.  I am now officially considered disabled, though my physical disability usually means needing to sometimes use a cane or a walker, or having trouble sleeping due to pain.

More recently, I had some very strange things going wrong and, before my referral to a specialist went through, I ended up in the ER, then had surgery, then back in the ER.  I will probably be getting more surgery, though when and what kind will depend on test results.

It has meant, however, that I am severely restricted when it comes to physical activity.  

It's driving me nuts.  I loved the work I was doing outside.  Manual labour feels good!

Depending on how things do, though, I might be able to increase my crafting again, if only to do something productive and not go stir crazy from imposed inactivity. 

Which means I might actually be able to start posting more frequently here again.  

We shall see how it goes!  

Crochet cat sweater

Since moving out to the boonies, we have basically become an unofficial cat rescue.  

Not only do we care for a colony outside, but have brought a number of cats indoors.  Usually, it is due to illness or injury, or we grabbed females before they reached their first heat, so we could get them spayed when we had the funds.  Once they come in, they don't go out again!

One kitten was brought in with eyes leaking so badly, they were stuck together and he couldn't see anymore. It took several weeks of careful eye washing before he healed.  He became known as F*d Up Dave, but now he's just David.  He was the first long haired cat to show up among the yard cats.  We still don't know where that long haired gene came from, but since then, more and more have been showing up!

Unfortunately, he absolutely hates to be brushed.  That glorious long fur gets seriously matted.  We would sometimes manage to have one person hold him down while another used scissors to carefully cut the mats out, which would always take several sessions.  

Still easier than trying to brush him!

We now have a grooming kit and last summer, we were able to shave the mats off.  It was a very bad hair cut, and he did not like the process at all, but it was substantially easier than trying to use scissors!

Well, he's all matted up again.  We figured we could wait until it starts getting hot before buzzing him again, but it's getting pretty bad.  Unfortunately, while it may be near the end of March right now, winter still has us in its grip.  It would be too cold to just shave him and leave him as is.

So I made him a sweater.

It looks small and blue in the picture.  My phone camera does not like to pick up the emerald green!  The back portion of the sweater is larger than the stomach portion that is in view.

I made it following this video.

In the video, she is making a sweater for kittens.  Rather than sizing up the pattern, I sized up everything else.  

The yarn I used is Bernat Softee Chunky, Super Bulky, in Emerald.   Only one ball was needed (108 yds/99m).  The hook size I used was an 8mm.  With those, using the same number of stitches as in the video (though I did make the collar one stitch wider), I got a sweater for an average adult sized cat.

Which David will be, once he's been shaved.

I expect it will take several attempts over several days to get the mats shaved off.  After that, we'll have to get the sweater on him, so he doesn't get too cold!

He is NOT going to be happy about this. 🤣😂